Going Green

Sustainability is more than just a buzzword — it is an important part of almost every industry if the industry wants to continue to grow and thrive in the modern economy. Lean manufacturing can be a great way for a number of different industries to increase efficiency and productivity but can it also be sustainable?

What is Lean Manufacturing?

There’s nothing better than having a little furry family member ready to greet you when you get home every day. Nothing, that is, other than adopting one from a shelter or animal rescue. October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. If you don’t already have a dog — or if you do — how can you participate in this awesome month-long event?

Start at Your Local Shelter

The best place to start during National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month is at your local animal shelter. Depending on where you live and how many animals are currently staying in the shelter, you may be able to find the perfect new four-legged member to add to your family. Many animal shelters run events and offer discounts on adoption fees during this month to encourage adoption.

Maybe you’ve eliminated plastic from your life, or you’ve committed to buying organic food and composting or producing as little waste as possible. You’ve discovered a new determination to break old habits and build new ones, to doing your part to help heal the world.

Especially if you are just beginning your green journey, you are probably full of excitement and determination. But more than likely, you are surrounded by people who don’t share your passion — whether it’s unsupportive family members, skeptical friends or antagonistic co-workers, it’s easy to feel alone in your green lifestyle.

It’s only natural to want the people you care about to join you, or at least to understand why you are making different choices. But sometimes, no matter what we do, we can’t seem to get our people on our side. Here are some ways to handle relationships with people who aren’t supportive of your new sustainable lifestyle.

When people walk into stores across the world, they’re thinking about what they need to buy and how quickly they can get out of there. That’s to be expected, especially when brands don’t advertise how they make their products in the stores where they’re sold.

If people do more research into what products they use on a daily basis, they’re able to make informed decisions about what they’re buying. The few minutes it’ll take to learn about this process could actually end up saving lives.

Animal testing is commonly acknowledged as a way that companies test products before putting them on the market, but the damage done to animals is extensive. Read on to learn how exactly you can help put an end to the dangerous and lethal ways that animals are used for product testing so you can ensure you’re promoting cruelty-free companies and using ethically made products.

If you’re like most people, when you toss something into the trashcan, you probably forget about it almost immediately. That piece of rubbish leaves your sigh with the rest of your trash and begins its journey. Although you may not give this “journey” a second thought, it’s happening nonetheless. Your waste ultimately ends up in a landfill, at the bottom of the ocean or, even worse, dumped into the heart of a cute and cuddly land-dwelling creature’s home.

This doesn’t mean you should never toss anything in the trashcan again. It just means you have an opportunity to cut down on your waste and make a smaller impact on Mother Earth. This is why we have Zero Waste Week. It all started with environmental enthusiast Rachelle Strauss, a woman who decided about a decade ago that it was time to take action to change the planet. Keep reading to learn more about the revolution she launched and how you can get involved.

So, you’re just getting started on your sustainability journey, and you’re wondering how you can learn more about the topic? You have plenty of options thanks to today’s thriving green living blogging community.

Here are 10 of the best green living blogs to subscribe to for regular updates and tips about living a greener life.

They say you are what you eat, and eating organic food — food free of pesticides and other artificial chemicals — has become more popular in recent years. Does eating organically really do that much more for you than traditionally grown produce, or is it another way to make you spend more on your grocery bill every month? Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common myths about organic food, and whether or not you really should spend extra green for some organic produce.

The concept of agriculture has been around nearly as long as humanity itself, but within the last 100 years or so, we’ve started to employ industrialized agriculture techniques that damage the soil and make it harder and harder to grow crops in the same areas. In 2017, American farmers alone planted nearly 320 million acres of farmland using these industrial techniques. Most of those crops were corn and soybeans — foods humans only consume roughly 25 percent of.

Centuries ago, our ancestors relied on regenerative agriculture techniques to plant their crops. Recent studies have emerged to suggest these ancient techniques could help save modern agriculture and reshape the food system. What is regenerative agriculture, and what can it do for modern farming?

When it comes to cleaning your home, you want products that will get the job done. But when looking for products to rid your bathroom of bacteria or leave your floors looking shiny and new, have you considered what chemicals make up the products you use?

People choose to eliminate toxins from their diet, but often remain unaware of all the toxins in their home. You may surprise yourself when you figure out what seriously scary chemicals reside in many home cleaning products. Not only are they detrimental to the environment, but they can be toxic to your health as well.

So, what can you do to keep your home sparkling, yet safe? You can find the answer in green cleaning.

Going green is a popular buzzword, as more and more people become concerned with the impact that we have on the planet. Driving electric cars, recycling and composting are all great ways to go green — but when it comes to cleaning products, many of the greenest households are still relying on harsh chemicals like bleach and ammonia to keep their houses sparkling. Thankfully, the push toward green living has resulted in a plethora of eco-friendly cleaning products that you can use to reduce your reliance on harsh chemicals. If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help — here’s our list of our top 10 eco-friendly cleaning products that we use every day.

About Me

Hello and welcome! I'm Emily Folk, and I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Growing up I had a love of animals, and after countless marathons of watching Animal Planet documentaries, I developed a passion for ecology and conservation.